Bag-fastener



(No Model.)

H. SHANK.

BAG PASTENER. i No. 319,516. PatentedJune 9, 1885.

WITNESSES INVELNTDH llnrrnn @rares Partnr Ortner..

I-IIItAM SIIANK, OFPROVIDENOE, LANCASTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

BAGHFASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 319,516, dated June 9, 1885. Application tiled February "i, i885. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern,.-

Beit known that I, Hman SHANK, a citizen of the United States, residing in Providence, in the county of Lancaster and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Bag-Fasteners, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in bag-fasteners; and the object of my improvement is to produce a more simple, cheap, and effective fastener than those in general use. I

attain this object by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure I is a top view of my device locked, and Fig. II is a view of the ends of the fastener and the hook-7 with the latter half unlocked.

Similar letters refer to si milar parts th roughout the several views.

The body A of my device,or the part which encircles the bag,is composed of a spiral spring, one end of which terminates in an arm, r, having a ring or bearing, a, to serve as asupport upon which the goose-necklevcr is permanently pivoted. The other end ofthe body A terminates in a ring-like bearing,O,through which the goose-ncck lever B is passed in securing the two ends of the fastener together. The arm r of the fastener which carries the ring or bearing is of sufficient length to serve as a rest for the edge of the thumbin pressing against said bearing, and the rectangular part ofthe same arm to Which the bearing is directly attached,or of which it forms a part,is long enough to permit considerable play of the ringD of the gooseneck lever. One end ,d,of

the goose-neck E has a ring, D, on its outer side, through which the goose-neck lever is permanently pivoted to one end of the body of the fastener. This goose-neck is composed of two sharply-curved sides, d and c, connected by a short curve, j", so as to form a hook. The outer side, @,of the hook is continued in a curve of greatly increased radius beyond the mouth g of the goose-neck to serve as a lever by which the hook is operated. The result of this construction is that when the hook is engaged the line of strain is directly from the point about which the ring D is pivoted and the bend of the goose-neck. The curves of the g goose-neck are such that it cannot slip either Way by means of the strain put upon it at any point between its mouth and its inner end, thus preventing the hook from unfastening accidentally; but from the peint g it opens -itself freely.

One difficulty with ordinary bag-fasteners is the inability to use the same one for bags of different sizes, by reason of their' inelasticity. In order to overcome this I use a spiral spring for the body, making the fastener of such size that it will close the smaller bags and have suflicient spring or elasticity to embrace the largest, the action of the spring being such as to keep the bag thoroughly closed.

That I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In a bag-fastener, the combination of the spiral-spring body A, having one end terminating in an arm, r, formed with a ring or bearing, a, and the other end terminating in aringlike bearing, O, with the goose-neck lever B E D, all constructed and operating substantially as described and shown.

` HIRAM SIIANK. Witnesses:

T. NV. Runsn, MARTIN Rnnsn. 

